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BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The United States has contacted members of a political bloc headed by former foe Moqtada al-Sadr after his parliamentary election victory put the Shi’ite cleric in a strong position to influence the formation of a new government, a top aide said. Sadr’s surprise win puts Washington in an awkward position. His Mehdi Army militia staged violent uprisings against U.S. troops after Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003. If Sadr has a strong say in picking a new…

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi met with Moqtada al-Sadr on Saturday, less than 24 hours after the Shi’ite cleric’s bloc was declared winner of Iraq’s parliamentary election, the clearest sign yet they could work together to form a coalition. “During our meeting, we agreed to work together and with other parties to expedite the process of forming a new Iraqi government,” Abadi said at a joint press conference. “It will be a strong government, capable of providing…

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a long-time adversary of the United States, has all but won Iraq’s parliamentary election, the electoral commission said, in a surprise turn of fortune for the Shi’ite leader. In the first election since Islamic State was defeated in the country, Iran-backed Shi’ite militia chief Hadi al-Amiri’s bloc was in second place, while Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, once seen as the front-runner, trailed in third. The preliminary results were based on a count of…

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Influential Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has called on Kurds to participate in the Iraqi parliamentary election with “strength and determination.” “They have to participate with strength and determination, and the voice of the Kurds must triumph over the injustice and corruption same with the Shias and the Sunnis,” Sadr said in response to a question on his website about the participation of the Kurds and the Sunnis. Kurdish support for the fateful election next week…

A recent episode of the show featured a clip of one candidate vehemently attacking the Popular Mobilisation Forces or Hashed Al Shaabi – an umbrella group of mainly Shiite militias, many backed by Iran. But by the next clip the candidate had about-faced. “The Hashed became legal and constitutional, so of course we are with them,” he said. “Greaaaaaat,” cried out Albasheer, laughing uproariously at the contrasting clips. “When you have to change your skin to fit your interests, you’re going…

Only a decade after their country's first ever multi-party elections, disenchanted Iraqis say "the same old faces" with their vested interests have been running the show since the fall of dictator Saddam Hussein. "How long have Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Ayad Allawi, Nuri al-Maliki or Haider al-Abadi been in power? One minute as MPs, the next as ministers," said Midan al-Hamadani, listing Iraq's foreign minister, vice president, ex-prime minister and current premier. "The parties are always the same and the same people…

Dr Intidhar Ahmed Jassim withdrew from the race after the video - which she says is a fake - was released online. Other women candidates have also reportedly faced online harassment. The UN statement said the targeting of women not only "brings anguish" to the candidates, but "is a threat to the integrity of the electoral process". In Iraq, one quarter of the seats in parliament must be occupied by women. But women running for office in the May polls are…

A new report adds to warnings that Iraq's government is creating a pariah class out of some of most vulnerable people in the country's society BAGHDAD — In December, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared “complete” victory over ISIL militants after Iraqi forces backed by American advisers and air power clawed back major cities occupied by the extremists for years. Abadi’s proclamation ushered in a period of euphoria over the end of major combat, with many Iraqis embracing a message…

Women and children believed to have links to the “Islamic State” (IS) militant group suffer “harrowing” sexual exploitation and discrimination in Iraq’s refugee camps, Amnesty International said on Tuesday. More than 2 million were displaced from their homes after “IS” militants swept through Iraq in 2014. What did Amnesty find? Women were being coerced and pressured into entering sexual relationships in exchange for cash, humanitarian aid and protection from other men. The women also faced the risk of rape, with…

Iraq will not solve the crises it faces unless it maintains an inclusive political process, overcomes sectarian divisions and rids itself of foreign interference, the Iraqi Vice President Ayad Allawi told The National during a visit to Dubai. On the 12th of May Iraqis will cast their votes in the first parliamentary elections since the country's victory over ISIL. However, the state is still being hindered by issues that are debilitating its democratic process and political independence. Mr Allawi explained that foreign intrusions in Iraq are…

Iraq’s Vice President Ayad Allawi launched an electoral campaign focusing on countering corruption, dubbing it “the call of the homeland.”“Some of those who assumed responsibility after 2003 did not carry the project of building a state,” Allawi said in a televised speech on Sunday evening.Allawi, one of the three Vice-Presidents of the Republic, added that “some took advantage of their influence and international relations to overrun real voices of the people expressed in the 2010 elections.”He pointed out that “abhorrent…